The invention pertains to the field of methods of alerting groups. More particularly, the invention pertains to methods of organizing tour groups and the like by providing warning to passengers of the departure of a conveyance.
Group touring is a common method of vacationing. In such tours, a large group of people who usually don""t know each other previously travel from point to point by a vehiclexe2x80x94a bus, train, or boat, typicallyxe2x80x94stopping frequently for short visits to points of interest. Often, the tour company plans only a minimal time at each stop, and either has to waste time tracking down missing passengers, or risk leaving them behind if the group conveyance leaves on time. The problem is exacerbated when the tour group is made up of tourists from various countries, who might not speak the local language and thus would not respond to a public announcement, even if such were possible.
There have been a number of patents issued on systems for communications with passengers about public conveyances.
Bishop, xe2x80x9cSchool Bus Approach Notification Method and Apparatusxe2x80x9d, U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,057, is a method of warning school children of the impending arrival of their school bus. Each school bus is equipped with a continuously running transmitter on a specific frequency, and the home of each student on a route has a receiver tuned to the frequency used by his/her bus route. The sensitivity of the receiver can be adjusted to determine how far in advance of the bus the alarm is triggered.
Fabiano, et al, xe2x80x9cBus Passenger Alerting Systemxe2x80x9d, U.S. Pat. No. 5,021,780, is another school bus alerting system. Like Bishop, Fabiano""s system uses continuously transmitted signals from the buses which are picked up by receivers in the students"" homes. Instead of a selective frequency, Fabiano uses a digital code identifying the bus route.
Jackson, et al, xe2x80x9cSchool Bus Locator Systemxe2x80x9d, U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,301, is another simple receiver picking up a continuously transmitted signal from the bus, with an added feature that a first alarm begins when the bus is a great distance away, and a second alarm is set off as the signal exceeds a given strength.
Jones, et al, xe2x80x9cAdvance Notification System and Methodxe2x80x9d, U.S. Pat. No. 5,400,020, is also for notification of school bus arrival. In this system, the bus keeps track of its position by GPS, and if it is running behind schedule, notifies a base station by radio. The base station then automatically places telephone calls to the students"" homes.
Schmier, et al, xe2x80x9cPublic Transit Vehicle Arrival Information Systemxe2x80x9d, U.S. Pat. No. 6,006,159, also uses GPS receivers on buses to determine their position. The information on bus locations is relayed to a central processor, which broadcasts information on bus location and loading throughout the area served by the bus system. Portable receivers can be programmed to pick up information about a specific bus route and stop.
Lewiner, et al, xe2x80x9cPortable Appliance for Informing the Users of a Bus Network About Waiting Times at Stops in the Networkxe2x80x9d, U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,317, also uses a central processor which receives broadcasts from buses and transmits broadcasts of bus positions, to be picked up by a portable receiver programmed with a specific bus route and stop. The portable receiver can then notify a passenger of when to expect the bus at his stop.
Roddy, et al, xe2x80x9cVehicle Security System with Local Area Pager and Anti-Drive Away Protectionxe2x80x9d, U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,106, and xe2x80x9cVehicle Security System with Remote Systems Controlxe2x80x9d, U.S. Pat. No. 6,127,922, are car alarm systems which use vehicle-mounted transmitters to send alerts to pagers in the event of a break-in.
Tuttle, xe2x80x9cSystem and Method for Locating Individuals and Equipment, Airline Reservation System, Communication Systemxe2x80x9d, U.S. Pat. No. 6,127,917, is a system for locating airline passengers in a terminal. Each passenger is given an individual wireless transponder, and the airline facility is equipped with a plurality of selectively addressable antennas, so that when a specific passenger is needed, the airline can determine where in the airport he/she is.
Group paging over wide areas is known to the art, as has been used for many years in volunteer fire department call-up systems using a group of pagers having a common alert tone or digital code. Restaurants such as the Outback Steak House chain often use xe2x80x9csilentxe2x80x9d vibrating paging wands to call waiting customers when their tables are ready.
The invention is a method of calling a group of tourists back to their conveyance, in which each passenger is given a portable alerting device when they leave the conveyance. When the conveyance is ready to leave, or at one or more times at intervals before departure, a transmitter on the conveyance transmits a wireless signal which causes the alerting device to vibrate or give off a light or sound signal, alerting the passenger to return to the conveyance for departure.
The invention benefits the passengers by making sure they won""t miss the bus, and the tour company by not losing passengers. Also, passengers can be allowed to stay and shop longer, making more money for merchants (and possibly the tour company), since they can be recalled through the invention without having to allow a great deal of time to reassemble at the bus.